He came for us in his beautiful
carriage,--a chariot it was, with a coachman as straight as a
lightning-rod,--and off we bowled to Poulton Hall. [My mother's
inexperience concerning splendid effects in luxurious life led her to
look upon them in a naive, though perfectly composed manner. One is
reminded of the New Adam and Eve, and one is glad that the patient
objects of time-honored beauty had found surprise at last.] It is four
hundred years old; and there we came upon unspoiled nature, as well as
elaborate art. It is an enchanting spot, with a lawn shaded by ancient
oaks and other forest trees; but green fields beyond and around that
had never been trimmed and repressed into thick velvet. The Hall had
belonged to the Greens, and the history of it is full of ghost stories
and awful tragedies. We entered a hall, and by the ancient oaken
staircase reposed upon the carpet a fox, in a fine attitude, with
erect head and brilliant eyes,--really a splendid specimen of a
creature. I was surprised at the quiet manner in which he reposed,
undisturbed by our entrance; but I was much more astonished to find it
was a dead fox stuffed. I could scarcely believe it after I was told.
Mr. Barber is a lover of sport, and is going with his family to-morrow
to Scotland to hunt grouse. He says that at this season the hills of
Scotland are gorgeous with heath flowers, like a carpet of rich dyes.
We were ushered into the drawing-room, which looked more like a
brilliant apartment in Versailles than what I had expected to see.
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